It was goal-crazy last weekend as the National Premier Leagues NSW Men provided a series of high-scoring games including some surprise score lines.
There are several matches to keep an eye on in round eight so here’s a look ahead.
Sydney FC v Blacktown City FC
7:30 pm, Friday 24 March, Valentine Sports Park
Sydney FC take on Blacktown City at Valentine Sports Park on Friday night in a thrilling match to start the round.
Sydney FC continued their impressive run in the competition with a valiant 1-0 win over Sydney United 58 last Sunday.
Sixteen-year-old Mitchell Glasson came off the bench to nod home a last-minute winner that secured the side’s third win in a row.
It pushes the young Sky Blues into sixth remaining only six points away from the top of the competition.
Blacktown City come into this game on a high after an emphatic 5-1 battering of Sydney Olympic in round seven.
Jak O’Brien and Travis Major each notched a brace while Carlos De Oliveira also scored to get Blacktown back into the winner’s circle.
There was plenty of excitement between these teams in 2022 with ten goals across the two meetings.
Three goals in the first ten minutes guided City to a 4-2 victory in round seven before the points were shared 2-2 later in the season.
Blacktown sit only a point ahead of Sydney FC with it likely to be a tight clash on Friday night.
Mount Druitt Town Rangers FC v Rockdale Ilinden FC
7:45 pm, Friday 24 March, Popondetta Park
Mount Druitt Town Rangers play table-toppers Rockdale Ilinden at Popondetta Park in the second Friday night fixture.
The Rangers won their second game of the season in round seven with a 4-1 victory over Central Coast Mariners.
Anthony Frangie scored the equaliser for Mount Druitt just before halftime as Nikola Skataric’s goal and two from Kotaro Katsuta in the second period confirmed the win.
The Rangers jumped to 12th after that victory and have a chance to move further up the table with a win in round eight.
Rockdale moved to the top of the NPL NSW Men’s table following a resounding 5-1 win over Western Sydney Wanderers last Sunday.
Alec Urosevski scored twice (one being his 100th career goal for the club), while Brendan Cholakian, Lachlan Griffiths, and Peter Kekeris all got in on the act in Ilinden’s fiffh successive victory.
Paul Dee has done a tremendous job thus far and settled things from the club’s back-line to attack.
The defensive unit of Lachlan Griffiths, Nikola Ujdur, Brayden Sorge and Mathieu Cordier have really been a huge x-factor in the team’s brilliant run accompanied by the lethal finishing of Urosevski and the crafty skills of Cholakian and Jaden Casella.
The teams couldn’t be separated in 2022 with a 2-2 draw in round five before a 1-1 draw in round sixteen with Rockdale giving up halftime leads in both games.
With both teams coming off high-scoring victories last weekend, it shapes up as an exciting clash on Friday night but with the wind in their sails, Ilinden look like they in-form team and will be hard to beat.
Bulls FC Academy v St George City
5:00 pm, Saturday 25 March, Sydney United Sports Centre
St George City travel to face Bulls FC Academy on Saturday at Sydney United Sports Centre.
St George got back to winning ways in dramatic fashion in round seven getting up 5-3 against Wollongong Wolves.
In the first half, Dean Pelekanos and Presley Ortiz each equalised before Aiden Mostofi scored in the 36th minute to send the team into halftime in front.
Nathan Roberts and Franco Maya found the net in the second half to secure the win for the newly-promoted outfit.
The result pushes them to only two points off second-placed APIA Leichhardt meaning they’ll want to keep the pressure on at the top of the table this weekend.
Bulls FC Academy produced a brave performance to hold APIA Leichhardt to a 2-2 draw last weekend.
Despite going behind, a quickfire double midway through the first half gave the side a halftime lead, but less than a minute after the break the scores were set level.
While the Bulls remain in 16th, last Saturday’s match was another positive performance where they could have nicked a win against one of the competition’s top teams.
It will be an interesting clash on Saturday with the hosts eager to pick up a long-awaited win against one of the early high-flyers of the competition.
Sydney Olympic FC v NWS Spirit FC
6:30 pm, Saturday 25 March, Belmore Sports Ground
Sydney Olympic play NWS Spirit on Saturday as the teams look to end recent disappointing runs in the competition.
Spirit had another defeat in round seven going down 3-1 to Manly United.
Despite Corey Kavanagh’s equaliser on the hour mark, they conceded two goals in the final ten minutes of the game which extended their winless run to four.
Olympic are also struggling, copping a 5-1 whacking over the weekend from Blacktown City.
Labinot Haliti’s team were 4-0 down before the hour mark as the star-stuttered side suffered their fourth defeat in a row.
Ziggy Gordon found the net in the 61st minute, but it proved no more than a consolation.
It means the reigning premiers are nine points adrift of first place and closer to the bottom of the table than the top which have sent alarm bells around Belmore.
There’s a lot on the line this weekend with no doubt both teams are in desperate need of a win after similarly poor recent form.
Sutherland Sharks FC v Sydney United 58 FC
6:30 pm, Saturday 25 March, Seymour Shaw
Sutherland Sharks play host to Sydney United 58 on Saturday at Seymour Shaw.
Sutherland earned an impressive 2-0 victory over Marconi Stallions last Saturday in a match that moved them four points away from the bottom of the table.
Jesse Photi put the team ahead inside seven minutes before Louis Khoury added a second towards the end of the season half.
Sutherland downed one giant of the NPL NSW last weekend, and they’ll want to do the same to another in round eight against a United side coming off a loss.
Sydney United 58 went down in a 1-0 upset defeat to Sydney FC in round seven copping a last-minute goal to see their winning streak come to an end.
After three wins in a row, that was United’s second defeat of the season seeing them drop off the top into third – now three points away from the summit.
It was close between these teams in 2022, however, Sydney United edged out both matches.
The side got up 3-2 in round two before stealing the points right at the death of the round thirteen encounter with a 1-0 win.
With the team’s having contrasting form coming into this weekend, it makes it an intriguing match on Saturday.
Marconi Stallions FC v Manly United FC
7:00 pm, Saturday 25 March, Marconi Stadium
Manly United travel to Marconi Stadium to face Marconi Stallions on Saturday intent on making it three wins in a row.
United went back-to-back for the first time in 2023 following a crucial 3-1 win over NWS Spirit last Saturday.
Bruno Mendes sent the side into halftime in front, before late second-half goals from Marcus Lai and Benjamin Koop confirmed the victory.
Manly have surged up the table in the past couple of weeks now sitting in eighth and level on points with their opponents going into this one.
The Stallions had another disappointing defeat last weekend with a 2-0 loss to Sutherland Sharks.
It means they are now eight points off the top of the table; however, they have the equal second-best defensive record in the NPL NSW Men’s so far.
Put that down to the hard work and efforts of the Speranza brothers as well as Nathan Millgate and Taylor McDonald.
The Stallions didn’t lose to Manly in 2022 with a 1-1 draw in round seven and then a 1-0 win in the final few rounds of the season.
This weekend’s clash is for both teams as they look to create some momentum after inconsistent starts to 2023.
Western Sydney Wanderers FC v APIA Leichhardt FC
7:00 pm, Saturday 25 March, Wanderers Football Park
Western Sydney Wanderers host APIA Leichhardt on Saturday night at Wanderers Football Park hoping to rectify a big defeat last round.
After trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Wanderers had a nightmare second half conceding four more goals as it blew out to a 5-1 loss against Rockdale Ilinden.
The side had only just snapped a four-game losing streak following round six’s 3-2 win over Sydney Olympic, but they’ve taken another step back after this latest defeat.
Andrew Christiansen’s team are now only three points away from last and face a tough match against the still-unbeaten APIA Leichhardt.
APIA were forced to share the points with Bulls FC Academy in a 2-2 draw in round seven.
Jack Armson put the side into the lead midway through the first half before a quickfire double from the Bulls sent Franco Parisi’s team into halftime behind.
Jack Stewart scored immediately after the break, but APIA were unable to find another goal to get the win.
It’s no secret that APIA have not had the same impact since Jason Romero made the move to Macarthur FC where he picked up his first goal in the A-League last weekend.
Littered with some great attackers however, coach Franco Parisi will accept his side to push for the three points against a highly talented Wanderers outfit.
APIA are three points behind top-of-the-table Rockdale Ilinden but remain the only team in the NPL NSW Men’s competition yet to lose in 2023.
The Wanderers will be up against it this weekend, but it was only a couple of weeks ago they picked up a win against the highly-fancied Sydney Olympic.
Wollongong Wolves FC v Central Coast Mariners FC
3:00 pm, Sunday 26 March, WIN Stadium
Wollongong Wolves face Central Coast Mariners at WIN Stadium in the only game on Sunday.
Wollongong fell to their second defeat in a row in an enthralling 5-3 loss against St George City.
Despite leading the match twice in the first half through Alex Masciovecchio and Jake Trew, their opponents piled on the goals in the remainder of the match.
The Wolves now sit in 11th having shipped more than half of their total goals conceded in the past two matches.
With the side beginning to drift away from the top of the competition, it is essential they pick up three points this weekend against the second-last Central Coast.
The Mariners lost again over the weekend going down 4-1 to Mount Druitt Town Rangers.
Sasha Kuzevski scored for the second game running to put them into the lead, but four answered goals from the Rangers condemned the side to defeat.
Central Coast have a chance to go above the Wolves with a win which would push them further away from the bottom of the table if other results go their way.
This Sunday’s match is important for both teams as they look to pick themselves up after troubling recent results.
Preview by Timothy Gibson, on Twitter @Timg123_
